I almost forgot, today is the day that Landmark goes live.
After the long road from the SOE Live of 2013 where Landmark was something of a footnote in the EverQuest Next story to it becoming its own game and early access and the usual long drought of information then the death of EverQuest Next to the dead spot press release all to reach today and the actual launch.
https://twitter.com/LandmarkGame/status/741348668930940928
The servers are up, the official site has been updated, the “early access” disclaimers have been removed, and the game is listed as a new release on Steam.
Also new, WildStar…
I am not sure what qualifies it as “popular” rather than just a “new release.” When I checked the Top Sellers list it was on page 7, putting it somewhere between the 151st and 175th most popular game on Steam at the moment.
Meanwhile, over at Daybreak, the server status page isn’t exactly showing the game is on fire here at launch.
Server Status: Low
Is everybody off watching the Warcraft movie tonight?
Or is this what a launch day is like when a game with a modest fan base to start spends more than two years lingering in “early access,” changing companies, changing designs, and changing payment plans all before a dwindling live studio audience?
What would sell people on Landmark here at launch day?
The Ancient Gaming Noob 
At this point, nothing. I remember buying early access to Landmark for the promise at potentially getting to see EQ Next take shape. With that removed, I have no intention of watching anyone play pretty princess dress up doll house. Not sure exactly what “Daybreak” is developing anymore, but the liquidation and sale from SOE seems to have been deathblow to the organization and any aspirations or dreams it may once have had.
SOE is truly dead and all of its games should probably be buried with it.
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I’m just about to log in for the first time after I type this. Landmark is what it is at the point and I’m sure there’s plenty there to justify a ten dollar ticket. From the perspective of hindsight, all the errors and misjudgments that led to confusion and rancor over Landmark stem from the penny-pinching attitude of the old SOE management.
It’s hard to explain why a sub-division of a global megacorp like Sony would have needed to behave like a cash-strapped indie but that’s what they did. They didn’t just attempt to harness the creativity and enthusiasm of their fanbase in the expectation of getting design work done for free, they went the extra mile and asked the fans to pony up for the privilege.
The change to DBG has been an absolute breath of fresh air as far as I can tell. Communication is smarter and clearer, decisions make more sense, and above all things that are promised are actually completed. How long this is going to continue is anyone’s guess.We neither know what timescales Columbus Nova work on when calculating the outcome of their investment choices nor how profitable or otherwise individual properties in the DBG portfolio may be. I feel quite confident, however, in believing that where DBG players are now is a much happier place than where they would have been had the previous management team remained in control.
EDIT: I typed the above at around 8 am. I thought it looked like it might be turning into a post rather than a comment so I saved it and logged into Landmark, ostensibly to take a screenshot or three. It’s now nearly 11.30 am and I have just had to force myself to stop playing because I haven’t had a coffee yet and I am getting a headache.
That is what Landmark is ALWAYS like for me. I don’t play it much because of all the “MMOs” I have ever played is the only one that I worry could be genuinely and unhealthily addictive. It may not be all that it could be but it was always more than I could handle safely. God forbid it should ever be any better.
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To me it is a reminder of the promise of the EQN reveal, and nothing more.
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Forget EQN. Look at Landmark as Minecraft with better graphics and NPC’s you can create. Make what you want of it. There was some amazing creativity in Landmark in beta and now there are better tools to work with. The history of the studio is irrelevant. EQ2 is better off now run by Daybreak, so why not take a fresh look at Landmark. That’s what I plan to do.
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